Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Growth & Development”
So, today my Nile rushes before me. It’s the door of the kindergarten classroom. It’s the car keys jangling in his pocket. It’s the foster child walking away with my heart. It’s the church aisle and bouquets of flowers. It’s the goodbye before the train, the car, the plane leaves.
And I must open my hands to release.
When it came to guys and dating as a young women, did you feel like you went at it alone? No one gave you any direction on figuring the whole thing out? My youth pastor tried. He told me to make out “my list” – …the one with all of the qualities I was going to look for in a guy. Wow, was that one long list! Faithful Honest Stable Hard-working Kind Funny… With my list in my head and in my heart, I began the search. What someone failed to tell me was when you’re 19 years old, finding …
As we find ourselves full-steam into this holiday month, I am especially sensitive about the opportunity to intentionally mentor my children through the holidays. I want to help them embrace the fullness of remembering the Christ child’s birth, without heaping on extra responsibilities rooted in traditions that become a drain on their schedules and deplete their rest and joy. The challenge, however, is that my children are in distinctly different developmental stages. Oh the Teens My oldest, fifteen, is studying for finals while primarily being concerned with seeing her friends as much as possible before the long, family-focused break. …
As our girls were running around playing, my friend lamented to me the frustrations of her day. Her son got in trouble at school again, this time for biting. Her infant still isn’t sleeping through the night. Her husband is always at work and she feels like a caged lion, trapped in her home and ready to pounce. With every word she said, I got it. Don’t you? We all have those days, us mothers. Being a mom of three kids under five, I’m always running – either on adrenaline or exhaustion. A messy house is the norm and rest …
Well …at least the roll is within reach. I suppose if a box of tissue had been nearby the toilet paper may not have even made it to the counter. Fellow Mamas, have you noticed…we are the end of the line when it comes to household management ? We get the stuff. Organize the stuff. Toss the stuff. Locate the stuff. And donate the stuff. Why is it that I know where my daughter’s earrings, my son’s shoes, and husband’s wallet are? Click To Tweet Why is it that I know where my daughter’s earrings, my son’s shoes, and husband’s …
“He gets mad at the smallest things and always causes a scene. I’m embarrassed to be seen with him.” ” I feel ignored and resent how much time he demands from my parents.” Click To Tweet “Why can’t I just have a NORMAL family like everyone else?!” “As much as I am embarrassed to be around my brother, I worry about if he is OK without me.” “It hurts when people are rude to him… but I feel guilty and ashamed because I am the rudest to him of all.” “Who will take care of her if something happens to …
How far is the distance between your parenting expectations and your reality? Becoming a mom has a way of surpassing and squashing our expectations at the same time. It’s a weird and wonderful thing, this journey of growing into a mama. For those just starting out, it helps to have a guide for growing your own life while growing your family. EXPECTANT, 40 devotions for new and expectant moms, is that guide. Whether we join the adventure biologically or through adoption, experience has a way of changing our expectations. Honest moms who can remember will admit to announcing they would …
Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6 NKJV Chances are if you’ve been around any mom of faith then you’ve probably rubbed up against this verse a few times. It’s sort of like the parenting “go-to” verse. It’s a great truth that I’ve clung to many times while raising my boys…but, there’s one part of it that I never fully was able to grasp until now. Here’s what I’ve been learning on my twenty first year as a mama bear, we can train up …
